U of L to invest $13 million into “Bucks For Brains” program

The University of Louisville “Bucks For Brains” program is receiving $13 million in funds. U of L’s Foundation Board of Directors announced this on Tuesday.

This new investment is part of U of L’s multi-year phase to achieve fiscal stability and growth. U of L said that this new plan could add an extra $4 million for academic funding each year.

With these new funds more than 90 underwater and state-funded accounts are being stabilized. It took $13 million of the $15 million total investment to stabilize those accounts.

Other underwater accounts are receiving the remaining $2 million from the investment. The release from U of L didn’t name these other accounts but said they are privately funded ones and are prorated.

This is a step for the university to reestablish their endowment funds after misspending by former president James Ramsey during his tenure at U of L.

The university refinanced outstanding debt on dormitory and construction projects to make this $15 million invest possible. U of L said in their release, “Restoring the ‘Bucks for Brains’ funding is important because it allows us to provide distributions from the state-funded accounts, which immediately creates as much as $4 million in additional annual funding that can be used to advance the University’s core mission: academics and research.” They also noted that none of this money will be used for athletics.

“Bucks For Brains” was started in 1997 with the intention to incentivize teacher’s research. The program is supposed to have state funds matched by private donations, doubling the support for research.

The last time the “Bucks For Brains” program at U of L received state funding was in 2010. U of L is aiming to attract more investors with their new plan and efforts.